


sugar cookie sweetheart

by ferne



Series: flavors of your heart [3]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, College Student Eren Yeager, Eren Yeager Has Heterochromia Iridum, Eren is doing his best, Erwin is an excellent wingman, Fluff, Humor, Levi Has Feelings (Shingeki no Kyojin), Levi Has a Sweet Tooth (Shingeki no Kyojin), Levi is hopelessly smitten, M/M, Valentine's Day, Valentine's Day Fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-12
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-03-18 07:07:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,733
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29364492
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ferne/pseuds/ferne
Summary: "Are you aware of what day it is, Levi?" Erwin asks, amusement clear in his voice.“I know what day it is,” he huffs. “It’s Valentine’s Day.”“Wow.” Erwin’s eyebrows shoot upwards. “You really must like Eren. I believe this is the first time I’ve ever heard you actually recall the holiday—please tell me you have at least asked him to be your Valentine?”“Erwin,” Levi says through gritted teeth.“You obviously know that I have not done that.”Valentine’s Day has been grating on him for days. It’s the first time in...well, ever that Levi’s actually interested in celebrating.That isn't happening today though, because the universe has a personal vendetta against his love life.* * *Sometimes nothing goes as planned. Sometimes that's a good thing. Levi and Eren have an unexpected Valentine's day (to say the least).[CAN be read as a standalone work, though it is part of a series]
Relationships: Erwin Smith/Mike Zacharias, Levi Ackerman/Eren Yeager
Series: flavors of your heart [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1900930
Comments: 8
Kudos: 59





	sugar cookie sweetheart

“Are you alright, Levi?” Erwin’s voice breaks through his swirling thoughts, making him blink. 

He straightens up, tearing his eyes away from the window in his office that he’s been staring through for an indefinite amount of time (to be fair, it _is_ his lunch break, he can spend it staring blankly if he wants). There's nothing particularly interesting about the view, which is largely blocked by the other, taller skyscrapers surrounding them. But it's nice to let his brain zone out for a little bit after squinting at the quarterly budget all morning (they're so close to solidifying it, but that doesn't change the fact that the final leg is absolute hell).

“What?” He snaps, shuffling the papers around in front of him like he hasn’t been daydreaming for the last….ten-ish minutes? He glances at the clock. Okay, more like twenty. 

“I was saying that I’m going to get lunch, want to come?” Erwin straightens up from where he'd been leaning nonchalantly against the door. Just how long had he been there? Despite his imposing presence, Erwin had always had a knack for moving around stealthily (convenient for back when they spent their days sneaking out of college parties, unsettling when he decides to invade his office without him noticing).

"Eh, fine. Don’t pick somewhere shitty.” He lurches to his feet, legs stiff from sitting for so long. “ _Not_ that Thai place you always drag me to.” 

Erwin chuckles and holds open the door, waving a hand for him to pass through. “Got it. I don’t always drag you there—” 

“Yes, yes you do, christ. And we both know it’s only because Mike likes it, so you can get him takeout at the same time, you sap.”

Really, he does approve of his friends’ relationship, no matter how much he complains about it, but Erwin turns into such a lovestruck teenager every time Mike’s brought up that Levi can’t help but tease a little. 

He grabs his jacket and yanks it on, thinking forlornly of his favorite scarf. 

Eren still has it, he realizes for the thousandth time, the little bastard. 

“Guilty as charged,” Erwin hums, walking toward the elevator. “What about you though. How’s _Eren_?” 

Levi’s lip curls in irritation. “Don’t say his name like that.” 

“Like what?” Ugh, Erwin’s having way too much fun with this. Thankfully, he doesn’t bring up Levi’s love life (really, that seems a bit dramatic, but he can’t think of a better word for it, especially not with his mind on lunch). 

“Like Hanji.” The steely elevator doors whoosh open and they step inside.

Erwin chuckles and punches in the lobby button. “Touche. Really though, how is your boyfriend? Have you seen him lately?” 

Levi grits his teeth, resisting the urge to leap out of the elevator before the doors shut like he’s escaping from a supervillain in a movie and not his oldest friend trying to make casual conversation. 

“He’s not my boyfriend,” Levi corrects. “And he’s fine.” 

Erwin sighs. “You still haven’t seen him, have you? Also, you might want to clarify that whole ‘boyfriend’ dilemma. You do realize what day it is, right?”

He knows that Erwin’s right on both accounts, but that doesn’t make it any less annoying to hear. 

Really, he’s meant to see Eren since the night they first met. Hell, they’d made plans more times than he can even remember. But shortly after they met, work for the opening of the new branch ramped up and Levi was up to his eyeballs in charts, graphs, and financial planning schemes. Just as his work let up a little, Eren went home on break for the holidays and was gone until mid-January. Since then they’ve just kept...missing one another. Class projects, company meetings, a new part-time job for Eren (honestly, if Levi was superstitious he’d think the world was conspiring against them). 

Thankfully he’s at least stayed in touch with Eren. More than stayed in touch. For someone who hates texting, Levi finds himself doing it often enough. He’d quickly discovered that Eren’s the sort of person that texts whenever he sees _anything_ that reminds him of Levi. Like songs, books, just random little snippets of Eren’s day that let him know that the young man is thinking of him. It’s sweet and wildly unsettling and Levi has no clue how to deal with it. He’s way too old to be literally wheezing over Eren sending him a picture of a lumpy grey rock he saw in the park, and yet it happened the night before, much to his chagrin. 

He likes hearing from Eren, even if he’s not sure what to say back. The only real issue is, as Erwin mentioned—the “boyfriend dilemma.” The fact that they haven’t actually managed to see one another despite living in the same goddamn city. The fact that Levi hasn’t managed to ask Eren if this is going somewhere or if he's just keeping in touch with Levi to kill his boredom between college classes.

“I know what day it is,” he huffs. “It’s Valentine’s Day.” 

“Wow.” Erwin’s eyebrows shoot upwards. “You really like him. I believe this is the first time I’ve ever heard you actually recall the holiday—I mean, except for that one time that Hanji forced everyone in the office to exchange cards...that was hard on all of us.” 

Levi’s mouth quirks up at the memory of Hanji sprinting across the floor of their offices, slapping homemade valentine’s cards on all of their employee’s desks. The glitter that they’d included in the cards had made a sparkly nightmare. Levi had put in overtime cleaning it up so that the janitorial staff wouldn’t have to deal with it, but still, it was good for company morale. 

“Please tell me you have at _least_ asked him to be your Valentine?” 

Erwin,” Levi says through gritted teeth. “You know I have not done that. And you also know that one of us is not going to survive this lunch if you’re hellbent on talking about the kid the entire time.” 

He's aware of how snippy he sounds, but he can’t help it. Honestly, Valentine’s Day has been grating on him for days. It’s the first time in...well, maybe ever that Levi’s actually interested in celebrating. Nothing elaborate or overly festive. But he’d like to see Eren, after months of just messaging, and the holiday is as good an excuse as any. Plus, Eren seems like the sort of person who’d like being asked to be someone’s Valentine, and as cheesy as it is, Levi wouldn’t mind asking. 

None of that is happening today though. Today both he and Eren have to work and so after a brief conversation where they’d both sheepishly admitted that they were busy, they’d not discussed it again. 

Erwin holds his hands up in mock surrender as the elevator doors open once more. “Fair, fair. I’ll hold myself back.” He grins at Levi, eyes crinkling, warmly. 

“Fuck off.” Levi yanks up his coat collar, bracing himself for the chilly February air awaiting them.

As soon as they’re through the glass double doors and out on the sidewalk, the frigid winter wind is snaking around him, making him shiver. Spring never seems to come soon enough. 

Erwin takes off down the street to the left, leaving Levi to speedwalk after him (at least he won’t be cold for long, practically jogging to keep up with the blond giant). “Just how far away is this place?” 

“Not far, not far,” Erwin assures him. They round a corner and he points at a storefront down the street with a sandwich board out front. “See, not far at all. Fingers crossed they aren’t too packed.” 

As they get closer, it appears that Erwin’s payers have been answered: the small cafe looks mercifully uncrowded, despite the holiday. Sasha’s Place is a small, but not cramped cafe, with paper hearts strung up in the window. Festive, but not over the top. As much as he hates to admit it, Erwin’s always had fairly decent taste in eateries, so he doesn’t doubt it’s good. The sandwich board out front prominently advertises their drink and pastry discount for the holiday, surrounded by a small cluster of doodled flowers and hearts. It looks...cozy, certainly a welcome notion after the bitter cold. 

A small bell chimes above their heads as they enter, and Levi’s mercifully enveloped in warm, cinnamon-scented air. 

The inside of the cafe is better than the outside, filled with well-spaced shiny tables of dark wood. There’s a coffee bar with high stools to sit on. A chalkboard behind the counter lists a wide variety of sandwiches and soups available, along with drink orders. Jazzy music filters through the air, adding to the warm ambiance of the restaurant.

Not bad, Erwin,” he says, nodding at the place. “Looks clean.” 

Erwin smirks. “I knew you’d like it. It’s very clean. Do you have any idea what you’re in the mood for?” 

“Yeah.” That’s an understatement. The minute they walked in Levi’s eyes had been glued to the dessert case. There are at least a dozen kinds of pastries there, all of which look mouthwatering. After a few moments of indecision, he settles on a spinach and cheese tart, along with a red velvet latte (he should probably at least be a little festive, he reasons with himself, even though he doesn’t have plans). 

“Welcome to Sasha’s Place, what can I get you?” The young woman behind the counter asks, notepad in hand. She’s got an enthusiastic, open expression. “Oh, hi Erwin! The usual? Caprese melt and an americano?” 

“Yes, thank you, Sasha, that sounds perfect. Could I get that to go?” Erwin nods, sliding his card across the counter to her. 

“Someone comes here often,” Levi says, raising a brow. “Why to-go?” 

Erwin shrugs. “They make an excellent panini, what can I say? And I don’t want to have to get it boxed if we run late.” 

Sasha smiles even wider if that’s possible. “Thank you so much, that’s actually one of my favorites too! What can I get your friend?” 

“I’ll have the spinach tart and a red velvet latte,” Levi says, handing over his card. 

She takes it and punches in his order. “Excellent, we’ve got a couples holiday discount going if you two are—” 

“That won’t be necessary, Sasha, but thank you very much all the same,” Erwin says, as smooth as ever. 

She shrugs. “Alrighty then, that’ll just be a couple of minutes, we’ll bring it out to you.” 

Levi waits till they’ve made their way to a table across the room to shoot Erwin a baffled look. “Did you just deny a discount? You? The fucking coupon king?” 

Levi’s been frugal his entire life, first due to necessity and later simply because of habit. Erwin, though, has always lived comfortably. He hunts sales for _sport,_ like some sort of old English nobleman in a grocery store. Nothing too extreme, but he’d seen Erwin slap a stack of coupons down in front of a cashier like a winning hand of poker cards more than once. 

“Language, Levi,” Erwin tsks, taking off his jacket and draping it over the back of his chair. “I simply turned it down as it feels dishonest since we are not a couple.” 

Ah, he does have a point there. If there is something that Erwin is more adamant about than shopping sales, it’s probably honesty. Of course, he’d think that saying that they were a couple to get a discount was highly immoral. 

Levi shrugs and sits down, facing the window. “Fair enough.” 

They chit chat peacefully as they wait for their food. It’s nice to be able to catch up—despite working together every day, the last few months have been so hectic it feels as though they’ve barely had time to talk. It’s good to get out for lunch as well. They haven’t done it much since Hanji had been gone for the last month, visiting the french branch again. While he didn't mind eating in the breakroom, the change in scenery is welcome. Thought the sight of snowflakes beginning to flurry down makes him shiver despite the cafe's warmth.

Footsteps come up behind him, their server approaching. “Hello and happy Val…..Levi?” 

His head whips around so fast that he’s certain it’s going to hurt the next day at the sound of his name. 

Eren stands there, a serving tray with his and Erwin’s lunch on it in hand. He looks even cuter than Levi remembered him: hair pulled back in a bun aside from a few pieces framing his face, his two-toned eyes wide with surprise. He’s wearing another baggy sweater, this one cream-colored and soft-looking, with tiny hearts embroidered on it here and there.

“Eren? What the hell are you doing here?” 

“Me? I work here! What are you doing here?” He lurches forward, awkwardly setting their plates down. 

“Ah, I see my suspicions are confirmed,” Erwin says, taking a sip of his coffee. “Pleased to meet you, Eren.” 

Eren shuffles uncomfortably, eyes flicking back and forth between Erwin and Levi. “Ah, you too, Mr. Smith. Again, I suppose?” 

“You two know one another?” Levi manages to ask, his mind still reeling. 

“Of course, I’m a regular and Eren works here. We’ve met a few times. I had my suspicions that he might be _your Eren_ , though I wasn’t certain.” 

Eren blinks, expression shocked. “It never occurred to me that you knew Levi—it probably should have. Erwin is a bit of an unusual name.” 

“Don’t feel bad about it,” Levi says, eyeing Erwin shrewdly. “He’s a conniving bastard. You set this up didn’t you?” 

Erwin sighs and stands, scooping up his still-wrapped sandwich and coffee. “Honestly, Levi, you make it sound like I’m some sort of cartoonish evil mastermind. I saw an opportunity to help a friend, so I made an educated guess. Sue me.” 

“No thanks, but I’ll kick your ass instead,” Levi snaps. 

Of course, Erwin’s entirely unfazed by his threats. Instead, he turns toward Eren, who’s still standing there, face bright red with embarrassment and surprise.

“So, Eren, hypothetically, if you were to take your break right now, you could probably have lunch with my friend Levi, no?” 

“I, um, yeah I have to ask my manager, Sasha, though.” He’s fiddling with the sleeve of his sweater, the way he does when nervous. 

“Might want to go do that.” Erwin nods at where Sasha’s restocking the macaroons in the display case.

“Yeah, great idea!” 

Before Levi can weigh in, Eren’s zooming away from them with the boundless energy of a caffeine-fueled college student. Levi whips around, glaring at Erwin. 

“You are fucking asshole, you know that right?” He snaps. “What the hell is this, a rom-com? You realize how weird this all is right? You aren’t that far gone from human societal norms that—”

“Levi,” Erwin says firmly, reaching out and squeezing his shoulder. His gaze is as calm and collected as ever, in contrast to the frazzled energy Levi feels. “I’m sorry for springing this on you, but this is the first time I’ve ever seen you actually excited about someone and I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I let you shoot your own happiness in the foot, understand? You wanted to see Eren today, but couldn’t work out the scheduling, correct?” 

Not trusting himself to speak, he simply nods.

“Well, I’m technically your boss, so take a long lunch and don’t fuck this up.” 

That’s probably the most annoying thing about Erwin—somehow he’s always right. He _does_ want to see Eren, especially because it’s Valentine’s Day, as annoyingly mushy as that is. And just getting to see him again has brought back that warm, giddy feeling that Levi recalls from the last time they saw one another. Getting to spend lunch with Eren sounds...honestly perfect. 

Erwin’s never going to let him live this down.

“You sound like Hanji,” he mutters, fixing his tie. 

Erwin lets out a booming laugh at that. “Well, they are an excellent wingman, and apparently, so am I.” 

“You’re a deadman,” Levi corrects, looking away. “Thanks, Erwin.” 

“Don’t worry about it. I’m going to need details though once your back. I’ve been telling Mike about this plan for weeks—it’s almost like watching a soap opera together.” He shrugs on his jacket and heads to the door. “See you in a bit.” 

Levi lets out a heavy sigh, rubbing his face in his hands. Ideally, he would have liked some time to mentally prepare himself to see Eren: to come up with talking points, to make sure he gets at least some sleep the night before so his dark circles don’t make him look like an absolute demon, to brace himself for the sheer cuteness that he’s about to face—

“Er, Levi?” Eren’s voice makes him jump, yet again. “Are you alright?” 

He jerks upwards, nearly slamming his hands down on the table while trying to hide his massive internal crisis “I’m fine.” 

Eren’s ditched his apron and is instead holding what looks to be a hand-sewn patchwork lunch bag, lingering awkwardly beside the table. “We don’t have to have lunch together if you’re busy, Mr. Smith did kind of spring—”

“Sit down, kid, your break won’t last forever.” Not the smoothest (or politest) but it’s good enough since it gets Eren to take a seat across from him. 

“Oh, you got the cheese and spinach tart,” Eren says, looking at his plate. “That one looks really good, I’ve been meaning to try it. I mean, everything Sasha makes is really good, but still.” 

Levi hums thoughtfully and takes a bite of the pastry. It is quite delicious. Even though he doesn’t know shit about food besides what tastes good and what doesn’t, he can tell that there’s a balance to the flavors. Like the richness of the pastry and cheese is complemented by the fresh spinach. 

“I didn’t realize that your work was so nearby,” he says, watching as Eren unpacks his lunch box. 

It’s nothing incredibly fancy, just two Tupperware containers with food. Carefully, he removes the tops of each, setting them aside. The smaller one appears to have carrot and celery sticks in it, along with a large dollop of peanut butter, while the larger container has—

“Did you bring heart-shaped sandwiches?” The question pops out before he can stop it. 

Eren blinks at him in surprise for a moment, before immediately turning bright red again. “Hey look, I bought the cutter to use at the preschool I intern at but I didn’t know if it worked on sandwiches, so I needed to test it out, alright? I also made sugar cookies….It’s not that big of a deal.” 

_He thinks he’s picking on him_ , Levi realizes with absolute horror. There’s no good way for Levi to explain that he is not, in fact, making fun of Eren, but rather is entirely overwhelmed by just how...unfairly wholesome his choice in food is. Also, as ridiculous as the notion is, he’s struck by a sudden pang of irritation. Eren's wasting his culinary abilities making food for toddlers when he could be making him heart-shaped food (christ, this is the type of monster having a crush has made him into—he’s jealous of literal children—what the fuck is wrong with him?)

Nevertheless, he has to clear this up somehow, because now Eren’s not quite making eye contact with him and worrying about his sweater cuff again like he wants the ground to open up and swallow him. 

Before Eren can say anything, he slides his plate across the table. “Let’s trade.” 

“What?” 

“Let’s trade,” Levi repeats. “You can have this tart and I’ll eat your lunch.” 

Eren gives him an incredulous look. “And why would we do that?” 

He resists the urge to immediately backpedal. “Because you said you’d been meaning to try it? And maybe I think your lunch looks festive?” The last part comes out mumbled. 

Eren looks at him through narrowed eyes for a moment before smiling and shrugging. “Well, festive is better than silly.” He slides his Tupperware containers over to Levi. “Have at it."

“Do you want to split the veggie sticks?” Levi asks, pretending that he can’t feel the flush rising on his face. 

“Sounds good.” Eren dips a celery stick in peanut butter. “I didn’t think you would be into...Valentine’s Day stuff.” The last words sound as though they’re chosen carefully like Eren thinks he's wandered into dangerous conversational territory. 

“I mean, I usually don’t,” Levi admits. “Since it usually consists of my friends trying to set me up on a blind date which….doesn’t go well. Ever.” 

Eren snorts. “I mean, that sounds pretty awful, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t glad about it.” 

“You’re happy I’ve had shitty Valentine’s Days my entire life?” Levi takes a sip of his drink (it's annoyingly good as well).

Eren shrugs nonchalantly. “If they’d been good then there’s the chance you wouldn’t be free to be my Valentine this year.” 

Levi chokes on his latte, nearly spilling it all over his lap. He coughs into his elbow, staunchly ignoring the shit-eating grin Eren has across the table from him. 

That’s something he’d forgotten about the kid, that, for all his awkwardness, he did have random bursts of actual suaveness. 

“Are you asking me to be your Valentine?” he wheezes, once he’s recovered enough that he can speak. “What is this, middle school?”

“Is that a ‘no’ then?”

“No, it’s not a ‘no,’ Eren,” Levi snaps. “Of course I’ll be your fucking Valentine. Idiot.” 

Eren _beams_ at him—this really does feel like middle school—making the foreign, fluttering feeling in Levi’s chest only get stronger. Before he can overthink it, he shifts his leg, hooking their ankles together beneath the table. Eren looks surprised, bending over to glance at where his red sneaker is aligned with Levi's plain black dress shoes. "

"Was that intentional?"

He rolls his eyes. "Yes, genius."

Eren chuckles and shrugs. "I didn't want to assume."

Not sure where to look, Levi picks up one of the heart-shaped sandwiches and bites it. It’s surprisingly sweet and chocolatey for a sandwich. “What the hell is in this?” 

“Ah, that one's Nutella and banana. The other is cheese and tomato, and, well the last one is a sugar cookie.” 

Levi raises a brow. “I think I could determine the last one on my own.” 

“I mean, you’re kinda old.” Eren takes a bite of the tart, chewing it thoughtfully. “How am I supposed to know how good your eyesight is.” 

He looks way too proud of himself. “You know, I could retract my acceptance of your Valentine offer. I could...un-Valentine you.” 

Eren, the bastard, has the gall to smirk at him. “No, you wouldn’t. You _like_ me.” 

“Fuck off and eat your lunch,” Levi says, though the smile fighting its way onto his face no doubt ruins the intended harshness of his words. 

“Got it, got it. I should apologize, it’s rude to poke fun at the elderly.” 

Levi snorts before he can stop himself. Eren stares at him across the table before burst out into laughter himself, his hand coming up to cover his mouth. 

“You have a snort-laugh?” He asks once he’s caught his breath. “That’s cute.” 

Levi is many things: timely, efficient, calm under pressure. Hell, he’d go so far as to say that he’s not even _bad_ looking necessarily, just fairly unremarkable. _Cute_ , though, is not an adjective that’s ever been used to describe him. Until now apparently. 

“Your face is bright red,” Eren points out, as though he isn’t blushing just as hard. 

“I don’t remember you being this cheeky,” Levi says dryly. “Not that I mind.” 

Eren tilts his head to the side as though he’s really considering his comment. “I was really nervous when I last saw you—I mean, we had just met—and I tend to ‘clam up’ a little when meeting new people, or at least that’s what my sister says. But, it feels like we’re on more equal footing now.” He shrugs and takes another bite of his food. “Plus, you’re pretty easy to talk to.” 

Levi gives him a skeptical look. “We both know that is entirely untrue.” 

“Maybe for other people. I don’t think so though.” 

Great, that’s just what he needs, another compliment that makes him feel like his heart is going to literally explode. He’s not sure how Eren knows just what to say, how to so neatly side-step all of Levi’s defenses that he uses to keep people at arm’s length. 

He opens his mouth (probably to say something extremely sappy) but is cut off by Sasha’s voice ringing out from behind him: “I’m so sorry to break up you guys’ date, but we need you in the back to help unpack the dry goods delivery, Eren!” 

“Oh, okay, just a second!” Eren calls back, before quickly shoving the last quarter of the tart into his mouth. “Sorry about this.” 

“Hey, it’s alright. I don’t want to hang you up at your job, and I’m certain Erwin wants me to return at some point,” Levi says, shuddering as he thinks of the grilling that he'll no doubt be subject to once he's back in the office. 

“Here.” Eren hands him the lid to the Tupperware, which now holds only the sugar cookie. “So you can eat it later.” 

“Er, thanks.” He means it, the sugar cookie does look damn good. “Should I just drop this off here when I’m done? Do you have a locker or something?” 

“Ah, actually….” Eren doesn’t look at him as he speaks, instead intently focusing on repacking his lunchbox. “Would you want to have dinner? With me? Of course, if not it’s no big deal, we literally just had lunch together.” 

“Yeah, I definitely want to have dinner with you,” Levi blurts out, barely even processing Eren's offer before he's agreed. “But it’s Valentine’s Day. Everywhere is going to be booked up.” 

The revelation doesn’t faze Eren, who claps his hands happily. “That’s fine! My roommate’s leaving town with his boyfriend this afternoon, so I can cook something for us.” 

“You...really like cooking, don’t you?” 

“Ah,” Eren rubs the back of his neck, sheepishly. “I suppose so. It’s relaxing for me.” 

“Well, that’s good. Text me your address?” He pulls on his jacket. “See you later.” 

“Eren!” Sasha shouts from the back. “Anytime now, would be great!” 

“Gotta go!” Eren winks at him, before scooping up his lunchbox and bolting to the back of the shop, shouting an apology to his coworker. 

The cafe feels much emptier without Eren's warm, bright presence. Too quiet almost. Levi picks up the Tupperware and tucks it under his arm before departing the coffeeshop. 

The short walk back to his office barely registers in his mind: he’s too busy reeling from the fact that instead of not seeing Eren at all for Valentine’s day, he’s going to get to have dinner with him. Just as quickly as the levity he’s feeling arrived, it’s replaced by a horrifying realization: unlike every other time he’s seen Eren, they’ve actually planned this. This means that he’ll probably expect Levi to have his shit moderately together. What the hell does one even wear to this sort of thing? A suit? Honestly, he’s uncertain if he owns clothing other than suits and a few sets of workout gear. 

By the time that he’s stepping out of the elevator, and back into the office, he’s come to terms with the fact that he’s going to have to bite the bullet and ask Erwin’s advice. He'll definitely lord over Levi about this forever, but at least he’ll look alright (Levi really couldn’t give less of a shit about clothes. Every time he needs to buy something, he just messages the groupchat that Erwin, Hanji, Mike, and he uses, and lets them duke it out over which one he should buy. Erwin usually wins). All of his friends' teasing will be worth it though because he's going to see Eren tonight and he is _not_ fucking this up. 

The end of the workday seriously cannot come soon enough. 

**Author's Note:**

> yay! another fic in this series!! i hope you all enjoy it. thank you for all your comments and kudos on this series so far, I really appreciate it!! come say 'hi' on tumblr if you want [@tragedists](https://tragedists.tumblr.com/) thank you for your support :)


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